Jackaroo

Synopsis

Jack Simmonds is a Jackaroo, a worker on a cattle ranch. He is the son of a part-Aboriginal itinerent worker, but his good looks and fiery spirit have earned him a reputation as a brawler and a ladies man. Fate brings Jack to Glen Ayre, a huge cattle station run by the wealthy and powerful Logan Family. Two sisters have inherited the Logan fortune, one a spinster (who runs the property), the other married to a Perth tycoon with a teenage daughter, Clare. Jack learns that Hamish Logan, co-founder of the empire, took an Aboriginal wife, and was later murdered by her tribe. Jack Simmonds, the Jackaroo is a descendant of that union.

If not legally, then certainly by blood and Aboriginal law, he is part of the Logan family. The conflicts of race and heritage begin… Jack falls in love with Clare and she becomes pregnant. Clare goes into hiding and the baby will be adopted. And so begins Jack's struggle to claim his inheritance, the woman he loves and the child he has never seen. Set against the backdrop of the Australian Outback, and the white man's grab for mineral wealth, Jackaroo is a story of love, jealousy, greed and revenge.

Cast

Production

Executive Producer: Terry Ohlsson Screenplay: John Cundill Producer: Bill Hughes Director: Michael Carson Shot on location in Western Australia. Locations include Cue, a remote settlement eight hours drive from Perth, Australia, and Meekatharra, a further two hours drive from Cue. Daily temperatures were in the high 30's Celsius (110 F+) In order to film in these dry, dusty and potentially hostile conditions the producers established a mini township for 70 people, bringing in water, food, and all the film equipment.